Meant as a Joke
by Andreya Halms
Summary: One quick slit, and it was over, her heart emptying her veins with each passing beat. He had meant it as a joke, but who knew that things could go so horribly wrong? SasuHina
1. Hinata

**I was watching Fairy Tail on Animax when, suddenly, Eureka! This idea just popped into my mind. In case you are wondering, it was the episode when ****Lucy and Gray's bodies got switched. Dunno what inspired my mind to come up with such an idea in the middle of a totally H.I.L.A.R.I.O.U.S episode.**

**Disclaimer- This site is...**

* * *

Hinata traced her finger along the edge of one of his custom-made kunai. They were just like his eyes- sharp, cold and lifeless.

It was true, she finally realised. You understand the value of people only when they were gone.

'Sasuke.' She said, the sound of his name calming her restless emotions for barely a millisecond.

Why did it have to end like this, she could not understand. There was still so much she wanted to tell him, to show him, to make him experience.

She was stupid, and she knew it. Stupid for being like this over somebody who might have considered their bond as a challenge. Maybe he had considered their marriage to be just like one of those countless arranged ones, where the couple hadn't even spoken to each other before they were unified. Which it was.

* * *

'_I don't see why I have to marry your daughter, Hyuuga.'_

'_You don't have much of a say in this, Uchiha. If you want to continue living in Konoha, the Hokage demands that you are to be married off to someone trustworthy. Also, this is a punishment to Hinata for declining title as head of clan.'_

_The avenger surveyed the delicate looking girl in front of him. She __shrank slightly reflexively._

'_Punishment by dooming her with a _traitor_?' He asked distastefully._

'_I _have_ no choice, even though I am her father. The decision of the Hyuuga Council is final and binding.'_

_Sasuke spat, just to show how little he cared for the "Hyuuga Council"._

'_Fine father you are.'_

_He grabbed Hinata by the hand and dragged her out of the Hyuuga compound. 'Come with me. I don't plan on listening to your estranged clan's nonsense when I can avoid it.'_

* * *

That was it. The story of their "marriage". They never spoke much, they never communicated much. They were nothing but a part of each other's lives that was to be ignored. They could live and spend independently with the money they got from missions.

Just two people sharing the same roof.

But…

Hinata closed her eyes and put a soft palm on her abdomen. Despite herself, she smiled slightly. She could feel the presence of a smaller chakra within herself.

A meld of his chakra and hers.

This was proof, right? Proof that things between them had changed, ever since that day.

* * *

'_Ano… Sorry for making you do this…' Hinata said __timidly._

_Sasuke, who was walking beside her, gave a nonchalant grunt._

_It was the last day of the Konoha Summer Festival. Hinata wanted to see the fireworks at the end of the closing ceremony and had asked Sasuke for permission. He__ had just looked as disinterested as usual and said "Fine, whatever"._

_Ever since she was married to the Uchiha survivor, she had been made a social outcast. The fangirls taunted her, whereas others whispered behind her back. Only the Rookie 9, Neji, Tenten, Lee__, Sai, Iruka-sensei, Kurenai-sensei and a handful of others treated her normally._

_The Hyuuga Council couldn't have given her a harsher verdict than this._

_But today, everything was forgotten. She flitted from one stall to the next, enjoying herself to the fullest, not noticing that the crowd separated her from Sasuke each passing second._

_Somewhere, while savoring a dango, Hinata realized that she was quite lost._

_Lost._

_Hinata dropped the sweet__meat with a muted clatter. She stood on her toes and frantically scanned the crowd for Sasuke. Sasuke, on all probability, had gone home, leaving her there. For once in her life, she was truly alone._

_Her pearl white eyes connected with his onyx ones._

_A warm fuzzy feeling, which could be described as gladness washed through her. It was now that she realized how insecure she felt without him._

_Sasuke cut swiftly through the crowd, like a hot knife through butter. An emotion, something very abnormal, played across his face for a moment, replaced by his usual passive stare. Hinata expected him to yell at her for causing so much of trouble and mentally prepared herself for it._

_A pair of strong hands grabbed her, pulling her into an overprotective embrace. She could practically hear Sasuke's heart beat._

_Fast._

_Her eyes widened. Did that mean he had been…worried?_

_Sasuke tightened his grip on her._

'_Don't you dare _**ever**_ do that again.' He whispered softly into her ear. 'You belong here. Right by my side. Got it?'_

_Hinata's lips slowly stretched themselves to form a smile and she returned his hug._

_Overhead, a flurry of fireworks exploded._

* * *

Yes, things had changed. But Fate wouldn't let them be, would she?

Sasuke had always joked that if they died, he would probably go to Hell and she to Heaven. But what she was about to do- taking her own life and that of an unborn innocent- wasn't that the greatest sin anybody could ever commit? It was surely a one-way ticket to Hell. And him.

'Forgive me, my child.' She whispered. 'You will get to see your father soon. And sorry, Sasuke, for not honouring your last wish.'

One swift slit with the kunai and it was over, her bruised heart emptying her veins with each beat. Beside the dying body, a scrap of paper read-

_Hinata,_

_If you get this letter, I am dead, all traces of my body probably gone by now. You know what being an ANBU Black Ops member is like. I wanted you to be the first person to know of my death. Hence the letter. Don't worry for the finances, though. My relief fund will provide for you. Live your life to the fullest and find somebody else to grow old with. This is my last wish._

_Bye._

_Sasuke._

* * *

**Will Hinata live? Or will she die? Read on to find out what happens next!**

**Ps- While you are at it, can you send your love by pressing that little button saying "Review This Chapter" or something similar ? Thanx.**

**-Andreya Halms-**


	2. Sasuke

**My heartfelt thanks to all those who've read and/or reviewed.**

**WARNING- SOME MAJOR SWEARING ENSUES.**

* * *

He had never meant it to go like this. It was supposed to be a joke. She was supposed to receive the letter and fall into depression. Then, miraculously, he would turn up, back from the dead, and flash her one of his trademark smirks.

"I am sorry. Even the Devil hates me, he kicked me right back to Earth from Hell." –This was what he was supposed to say before pulling her into a hug.

Now that she was fucking _dead_, his entire plan had been a waste.

Sasuke shoved his hands into his pockets and took in the scene surrounding him. To his left, they were lowering Hinata's coffin into her grave. The entire village had turned out for the funeral wearing their black mourning clothes. He stood out from the rest of them in his ANBU uniform. To his right, the members of the Hyuuga clan were wailing, lamenting the loss of their beloved former heiress. Those bastards had actually burst into his house while he was training, demanding that Hinata was to be buried with her Hyuuga ancestors. Sasuke had just shrugged and continued on with mutilating the training dummy beyond recognition.

It was funny, actually. They treated her like dirt when she was alive. _Now,_ they had gone as far as fighting over her dead body.

Sasuke looked up at the sky. It was about to snow. He exhaled and turned to leave, coming face-to-face with an angry looking Kiba.

'Where do you think you are going?' The Inuzuka growled.

'Home.'

'How can you disrespect Hinata like that? You should at least stay a bit longer!' Kiba was shaking from anger and grief. His emotions were natural, considering he had been Hinata's best friend when she was alive.

'Why should I?' Sasuke said matter-of-factly. 'Crying over her dead body isn't going to do anyone any good. Least of all me.'

'She was pregnant, darn it! Pregnant with your child!'

An unnatural silence settled down around them. Heads turned to watch the two.

She never told him that before he had left. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. 'So?'

'So?' Kiba grabbed Sasuke's collar. 'So? Can't you show any regret? Any remorse? What the hell is your freaking problem anyway? Hinata died all because of you! If you hadn't sent her that stupid letter, she would still be HERE. I am tired of seeing your stupid impassive nobody-can-understand-me-I-am-all-alone-so-I-am-superior-than-the-others face. If all the Uchiha were like you, I am glad that they died. The world doesn't need anymore motherfucking assholes like you, hear me?'

'What do you wish to imply? That Hinata was my mother?'

Kiba finally snapped. His nails grew longer, like they did when he was angry or excited. He curled his palm into a fist and pulled back his elbow to whack that annoying _smirking_ creep into oblivion, when his knuckles connected with thin air. There were gasps all around.

_Unreal. He moved so fast._

The Uchiha was now standing back to back with him. 'Tch. You forget whom you are picking a fight with, little _bitch._'

Kiba fell to his knees. A single tear drop rolled down his cheek. 'Today was her birthday…If you had never existed…' He dug his nails into the ground, leaving behind dark furrows in the snow. 'If you had never existed… this wouldn't have happened… She would still be alive…'

Sasuke continued walking towards the cemetery's exit. Sakura stepped out from the crowd and put a comforting hand on the Inuzuka.

'Don't get angry at him, Kiba. I'm sure he cared for Hinata-chan. It's just that…maybe he doesn't want to show his feelings, right Sasuke-kun? He turned up for the funeral, don't you think that it's enough to-'

'Just to make things clear,' Sasuke interrupted, his back still turned to the crowd. 'I came because I was _obliged _to. If any of you here were to die I'd not even as much as think about coming here. Least of all to yours.'

The last sentence was directed towards the pink haired medical nin.

His words hurt her bad…real bad. As opposed to the previous childhood crush she used to hold for Sasuke, her feelings towards him had matured into something deeper…something more _meaningful_. She truly longed for him to accept her, and after he had married she never bothered him. But deep down, yes, deep down she really cared for him.

'Teme!' A voice snarled out from the crowd. It was Naruto. 'What's wrong with you? Why do you hate all of us so much? Ever since the beginning we have always supported you. When the others wanted you to be executed, we believed in you. We believed that a tiny fragment of the Sasuke I knew was still there, buried under layers and layers of hate. Especially Sakura-chan. Every time one of us tries to come near you, you shun them. I can't take this anymore. I want to know why you hate us? What did we ever do to-'

'You want to know?' Sasuke twirled around, his Mangeyko Sharingan activated. 'You want to know that badly? Why don't you ask the elders of the village? Why don't you ask the freaking Hokage?' He began to laugh. 'But then again, if you do, they will never tell you the fact that they, the leaders of Konoha, are responsible for every little turn my life has taken, because it was they who had killed off my entire clan.'

'What do you mean, teme? Wasn't Itachi-'

'SHUT THE FUCK UP!' Sasuke roared. 'You don't know anything about him. None of you are fit enough to say his name. The Uchiha were planning a coup d'etat to gain control over the village during the time my brother was in the ANBU. He was a peace loving man, but they gave him the toughest mission of his life- the eradication of his entire clan to stop the upheaval. But he…he loved me. He valued my life over the village. That night he killed his mother, his father, his lover…but he could not get himself to kill his own little BROTHER.'

'If what you say is true…then I agree that what the Hokage did was wrong. But then…it was your clan that started it.'

'That they did, but why, you might wonder. It was because the village shunned _us._ They looked at us with the same eyes that they looked at you, Naruto. The same disgusted glare that they gave you. All because of a problem that we solved generations back.'

Naruto was stunned. He knew how it felt to be looked at like that' looked at as if his very existence was polluting. He knew the reason for his case; but why the Uchiha?

'I-I don't understand-'

'Don't even try to understand because you can't.' Sasuke snarled. 'Go and ask the village elders of Madara Uchiha.' Then he was gone, leaving behind nothing but questions in the mind of the people.

* * *

Sasuke entered the tiny house they had been given by the village. It was dinner time and he had had nothing for lunch, what with him having to waste his time on Hinata's funeral.

He was famished.

He went to the wooden shelf that Hinata had decorated with colourful little ornamental stickers and took out two plates, out of habit. Halfway to the table, he paused, turned back, and returned the other to the shelf.

Sasuke opened the fridge and glared inside. It was empty, except for a lone dish lying in the corner. He took it out and sniffed the contents. It would have to do.

Without heating it, he upturned the dish over his plate and shook it slightly. A blob of something unrecognizable the shape of the container fell on his plate with a squelch. Sasuke put a bit of it into his mouth with a spoon. It was cold and rotten, yet it tasted delicious.

It had to, because it was made with nothing but pure love and affection and other unnecessary things by Hinata.

After he finished eating, it was the same routine that he followed everyday.

He washed the utensils.

He dried them.

He went out and checked the water tank.

He brushed his teeth, exactly 52 times.

He trained a bit in the backyard in the snow for 2 hours.

He went to bed, wearing his ANBU uniform as usual.

Try as he might, Sasuke found that he couldn't go to sleep. He tossed and turned in the bed, which for some reason felt strangely empty. He sat up. Going to sleep was impossible and he felt extremely irritated. The maddening blizzard outside wasn't doing anything to soothe his temper. He exited the bedroom and opened the front door.

'I'm going for a walk.' He said to nobody in particular and left the house barefooted.'

* * *

Tsunade looked out of the huge windows of the Hokage's office and surveyed Konoha in the morning sunshine. It had snowed all night, and Konoha looked as if it had sprung out from a Christmas card. Below, the people bustled around in their day to day business, preparing for the aforementioned festival.

'Tsunade-sama.' Shizune said hesitantly.

'Hm?' The last Sannin replied, without taking her eyes off her pride and joy.

'Do you think it's a good idea to assign Sasuke this mission? I heard he made quite a commotion yesterday.'

'I know that.'

Shizune ended the topic. Tsunade-sama never took any decisions without thinking them through. She knew that from personal experience. So, if Tsunade thought that what she was doing was right, it was right. There was one thing she wanted to ask, though.

'Who are the other people who are going?'

'The old Team 7.'

She was relieved. They were the only ones alive who understood the neurotic ninja the best.

There was a knock on the door.

'Come in.' Tsunade ordered. One by one two men and a woman filed in, the latter looking slightly nervous.

Tsunade finally turned and ran her eyes over them. 'There have been some disturbances in the edge of the Fire Country. The terrorists, believed to be highly skilled ninja are wreaking havoc wherever they go, leaving behind stamps of a red cloud set in a black background.'

'The Akatsuki?' Kakashi asked.

'Maybe. Even though the controller of Akatsuki, Madara Uchiha was killed by Sasuke, it might be possible that he has managed to resurrect himself somehow. Or, there may be some sympathisers of the Akatsuki carrying out the organisation's quest for Konoha's destruction. Whatever it is, we need you to investigate.'

'Tsunade obaa-san?' Naruto asked. 'I heard Sasuke will be coming too. Where's he?'

'I don't know. His mission hawk was sent hours ago. The hawk never returned and there have been no reports of him leaving the village. I sent someone to look for him but-'

Somebody crashed into the door to Tsunade's office and it flew open. Konohamaru stood at the entrance, looking as if he had just run a marathon and exhaling puffs of white breath.

'Naruto-neechan.' He wheezed painfully. 'You must come right now. It's bad.'

Naruto got a chilled sensation up his spine and it wasn't because of the weather.

…

Konohamaru led them to the graveyard. The first thing that they noticed was that the snow was not as deep as it should have been. The ground under their feet was solid ice, covered by thin layer of snow.

It was as someone had melted the snow using some sort of fire jutsu, leading to the formation of ice when the melted snow had solidified.

'Where are you taking us?'

The Third Hokage's grandson pointed shakily to Hinata's grave. Or rather, where her grave had been.

It was ruined completely, wrecked beyond recognition. The headstone was ripped from its position and it lay a few feet away with spider web cracks decorating its surface. Icicles clung to the charred stone angel protecting the grave.

Anger rippled through Naruto. Hinata was a peace loving creature who didn't deserve anything as brutal as this even in death.

'Who did this?' He screamed in blind fury. He grabbed Sakura who was standing beside him. 'Was it you? WAS IT YOU?'

Sakura went pale.

Sakura's love for Sasuke was a well known fact. It was obvious that she could never forgive Hinata for taking away her chances of having him. Out of jealousy she-

'Stop it Naruto.' Kakashi ordered curtly. 'You're scaring her. Leave her now. Leave Sakura.'

'How can you take Sakura-chan's side, Kakashi-sensei? She's the one who-'

'Please. Ju-just stop it.'

Something in the older Jounin's voice stopped Naruto. He had never heard Kakashi speak so…so…differently. He had never heard him falter. His breath hitched in his chest as he saw what Kakashi had seen.

Hinata's coffin was dug out and he could see Hinata lying there. But that was not all.

Beside her, in the same coffin, lay the body of Sasuke Uchiha with his arms around her, a peaceful frozen smile gracing his dead face.

* * *

**Please note that this is **_**NOT**_** necrophilia. **

**I HAD to put a up a colourful display of "language" coming out from Sasuke's mouth to portray his bad boy and I-don't-give-a-damn-about-anything attitude. I normally don't use such words in day to day convo.**

**The ending reminds me of Sasori when he made puppets of his dead parents and cuddled up to them. Naruto and Naruto Shippuden sure have a lot of people with strange mental problems.**

**I apologise for taking up so much of the time writing about Sasuke and Itachi's past. The thing is, I absolutely adore SasuIta. As brothers. NOT IN THE YAOI WAY. I really wish Itachi hadn't died. But then, if he hadn't, Sasuke wouldn't have turned all angsty and neurotic. So I guess it's acceptable that Kishimoto made Sasuke kill Itachi.**

**The mission hawk never returned because it was busy circling over the location of the recipient (which, in this case, is Hinata's grave.)**

**I'm really sorry for killing Hinata and Sasuke in the end, but it just had to be done. If you want a happier SasuHina fic, you can check out my other fic, A New Life (or something like that 'cuz I keep changing its name.)**

**Once again, thanks to all those who reviewed the previous chapter.**

**Please please PUHRLEEZE review. If not for your sake, then at least for mine. Nothing makes a writer happier than reviews. It doesn't matter if they are good, bad, or constructive.**

**The inspiration for this fanfic comes from the song "Tsuioku Merry-Go-Round" by onelifecrew, from the anime Fairy Tail. Just love the jazz of that song.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**~~Andreya Halms~~**


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